Israel is Caught in the Jaws of Partisanship
A Jewish neighbor exclaimed “I can’t support Israel as long as Donald Trump is president.”
His words were startling, but not surprising. They exposed a troubling reality that extends well beyond one individual’s political views.
Israel is caught in the jaws of partisanship and that does not bode well for the Jewish state.
For some American Jews, opposition to Donald Trump has become so consuming that it now eclipses support for the Jewish state. They insist their position is not about Israel at all. They argue that saving America from Trump’s policies must take precedence over everything else.
But that explanation raises an uncomfortable question. Why should one’s opinion of an American president determine one’s support for the survival of Israel?
Loving America and supporting Israel are not mutually exclusive. Millions of American Jews have always believed they owe loyalty to both countries. America’s success has provided Jews with unprecedented freedom and opportunity. Israel’s existence guarantees that, after two thousand years of exile and persecution, the Jewish people once again have a sovereign homeland capable of defending itself. These commitments reinforce one another; they do not compete.
Donald Trump, whether one admires or opposes him, is a temporary political figure. Every president eventually leaves office. Iran’s quest for regional dominance and the determination of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies to destroy Israel will not disappear with the next inauguration. Those threats are enduring, existential, and deadly.
Ironically, many of the same critics who refuse to support Israel because Trump supports Israel simultaneously argue that Trump does not truly support Israel. They fault him for restraining Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Iran before total victory was achieved. The contradiction is difficult to ignore. If Trump strongly backs Israel, they oppose Israel because of Trump. If he limits Israel, they condemn him for abandoning Israel. The conclusion seems predetermined regardless of the facts.
The deeper issue is ideology.
Over the past generation, large segments of the American left have increasingly recast Israel from democratic-ally to colonial oppressor. That transformation did not occur overnight. It was cultivated in universities, amplified through social media, and increasingly reflected within progressive political organizations. Today, elements of the Democratic Party openly embrace movements that portray Israel as uniquely illegitimate while excusing or minimizing the terrorism directed against its citizens.
This intellectual shift is especially evident among younger Americans, many of whom have spent years immersed in educational environments where identity politics often replaces historical context, and ideological conformity is rewarded over intellectual curiosity. Students are frequently taught to divide the world into oppressors and oppressed. Within that framework, Israel is assigned the role of oppressor regardless of the facts, while Hamas and other terrorist organizations are too often viewed through the lens of grievance rather than moral responsibility.
The consequences extend far beyond the Middle East. A society that teaches its young to distrust its own institutions, dismiss its history, and view Western civilization primarily through the prism of oppression should not be surprised when support for America’s closest democratic-ally begins to erode as well.
Years ago, one of my daughter’s high school teachers sensed the direction in which our culture was heading. He looked at her class and quietly said, “People, the nation is at risk.”
At the time, his warning seemed exaggerated.
Today, it sounds prescient and prophetic.
Israel should never become collateral damage in America’s partisan wars. Political leaders come and go. Alliances endure. So do civilizational values. American Jews—and Americans generally—should judge Israel on its own merits, not on who happens to occupy the Oval Office.
